UPDATE 3-Mitsui unit to pay $90 million over Gulf oil spill

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Mitsui & Co Ltd's
MOEX Offshore agreed with the U.S. Justice Department
to pay at least $90 million to settle some of its liability in
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the first government settlement
involving the BP Plc Macondo well.

MOEX will pay $70 million in civil penalties for violations
of the Clean Water Act and spend at least $20 million on
conservation projects in the Gulf states, the Justice Department
said on Friday.

The settlement comes just 10 days before the civil trial
starts in New Orleans to assign blame for the disaster, the
largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The accident, which
led to almost 5 million barrels of oil spilling, killed 11
people aboard the drilling rig.

BP itself has set aside more than $40 billion to cover
spill-related costs. The company has been trying to reach its
own settlement with the Obama administration, but whether it can
succeed by the Feb. 27 trial is still uncertain.

"We believe that all parties would like to settle before the
trial date. However, we believe it is still not a given that all
of the parties can meet and resolve the various issues," said
Angie Sedita, a managing director of equity research at UBS.